2024-01-30 02:16:22
Four professional orders sent a notice Monday to their members to advise against intravenous vitamin therapy in patients without a diagnosed health problem. This practice, which is on the rise in the province, “carries risks, and the proposed benefits are not supported by scientific evidence,” they warn.
“Private clinics promote vitamin cocktails with alleged virtues such as “strengthening the immune system or improving memory”,” write the College of Physicians of Quebec (CMQ), the Order of Pharmacists of Quebec, that of Nurses and nurses of Quebec and that of dietitians-nutritionists of Quebec. However, “no scientific evidence” demonstrates that the injection of vitamins or minerals intravenously makes it possible to achieve these objectives, underline those who warn the public.
They therefore advise against the use of infusions in people who do not have a diagnosed vitamin or mineral deficiency, because this practice carries risks. “In the best case scenario, you will have spent money unnecessarily. Then, in the worst case, you put yourself at risk of infection, because it remains an intravenous injection. The products must be prepared in a sterile manner and administered with caution,” explains Jean-François Desgagné, president of the Order of Pharmacists of Quebec.
In an interview with Le Devoir, Mr. Desgagné deplores the “vagueness” surrounding the clinics offering these services. “For these clinics, we don’t know where the medications come from and how they are prepared. It’s difficult to know who the prescriber is and, often, it’s a single prescriber who writes a collective prescription. So that is very worrying. »
Unlike individual prescriptions, collective prescriptions allow clinic nurses to inject intravenously a mixture of ingredients from compounding pharmacies, without their clients even meeting the prescribing doctor. A survey published in our pages last June exposed the phenomenon.
Monday’s notice was issued preemptively in the wake of the growing popularity of intravenous vitamin therapy in Quebec, notes Mr. Desgagné. “There seem to be about twenty clinics that have started this practice [dans la province] “, he specifies.
Ethical obligations
In the event of a vitamin or mineral deficiency, the doctor must absolutely examine the patient before determining whether an infusion is necessary, underlines Dr. Mauril Gaudreault, president of the CMQ.
The notice issued by the four orders invites its members who offer intravenous vitamin therapy services to “review this involvement” in light of their code of ethics. “The fact of administering an infusion prescribed by another professional does not relieve you of your obligations,” it says.
The president of the Order of Nurses of Quebec, Luc Mathieu, urges his members to think about the reasons leading them to inject these products into patients.
The public must, for its part, exercise caution in the face of “any miracle cure,” believes Dr. Mauril Gaudreault.
Vigilance is required when it comes to health information, adds Joëlle Emond, president of the Order of Dietitians-Nutritionists of Quebec. Professionals are available to answer the population’s questions regarding their nutritional needs, she recalls.
With Stéphanie Vallet
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